Hey All,

I have a 3 door Stilo Dynamic which I've had for 3 years now, apart from all the usual problems with airbag failures to engine failures, I think the worst is now happening.

I have the underside of the dashboard; the glove box; side consoles; fuse box cover and MyCar buttons all covered in a sticky solution that when touched turns yours hands black.

The strange thing is that I never use solvent to clean the dash, just a damp cloth. And the stuff won't come off. I've tried dash cleaner, surgical spirit, even waxoyl remover and stuff just keeps on coming. The centre console where the cigarette lighter is; is un-affected.

Has anyone experienced this?! I've gone to the FIAT dealership but as usual they say it's somehow my fault not theirs.. what's new!!

Any help would be appreciated, and if anyone knows where I can replace these parts; not from FIAT since I don't want to give them another cent, please advise.

Cheers for your help.

Have you had the car from new as it can take a long time for chemical agents to degrade plastic

Never heard of this happening on untouched plastic.

Had this happen on our 5dr Stilo; the door had been repaired previously, and the paint used on the plastic wasn't sticking, so everytime you touched it you would get a black mark on your fingers.

Whats happening to the texture of the plastics?

I've had the car from new; the car was never repaired (dashboard or anything internally) and the fact that this black stuff sticks to everything is pissing off! Any ideas on maybe what solvents can stop this?

If you touch the plastic you actually leave a fingerprint in it. When i cleaned a part with surgical spirit it was fine for like 2 mins, then it became sticky again.

Sounds like our electric meter in the house, that oozes and drips molten plastic, where it comes from I dont know but it done it for 20 years and doesnt seem in short supply.

Any pics at all? the may help us

I'll take pics tonight and hopefully post them tomorrow, the stange thing is that it's everywhere...

I'll keep you posted. Any ideas on what solutions/chemicals can be used to remove this gunk?!

Thx

emallia said:

If you touch the plastic you actually leave a fingerprint in it. When i cleaned a part with surgical spirit it was fine for like 2 mins, then it became sticky again.

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I had an identical problem to this on my old Rover 416. It only affected the external bottom rubber window trim. I just left it alone in the end as the more I tried to clean it the worse it seemed to get. Never did find out what caused it.

I'd strongly recommend working on a small unobtrusive area first as you could easily make it worse

Have you by any chance had a close encounter with a UFO?

Joke, sorry.

Sometimes (as plastics are made of a combination of chemicals) it is not unusual that the formula when manufacturing has not been strictly adhered to. Thus, degradation can occur over time. When you say the dash is oozing, do you mean the the topside, or the hard plastic part? One part is a kind of soft rubber, the other a solid poly.

Hmmm love the smell of plastic in the morning aswell as solvents!
Dont use any solvents as most solvent will eat it,as the plastic has broken down already there is not alot you can do about it.if the garage wont fix it id try to get the parts from a scrappy and replace it your self.

I have got the identical problem I live in Spain so the temperatures are hot and I thought that this was the reason mt plastic was sticky if you are from Uk then its not the heat ????? I am trying to remove my panels so I can hopefully clean them I have heard I think from this forum Oven cleaner is what we need.

Jiminspain said:

....I have heard I think from this forum Oven cleaner is what we need.

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Don't like the sound of that

Hello tried the oven cleaner and soap and water did the job spray oven cleaner on to the sticky leave for 5 mins then wash off in warm soapy water and the sticky goes if any stubborn sticky still there rub it with scouring pad dipped in the soapy water mine is now clear
Best of luck

Jiminspain said:

Hello tried the oven cleaner and soap and water did the job spray oven cleaner on to the sticky leave for 5 mins then wash off in warm soapy water and the sticky goes if any stubborn sticky still there rub it with scouring pad dipped in the soapy water mine is now clear
Best of luck

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Good lord. How's that left the surface of the dash? Photos???

My problem was below the dashboard near the glove compartment and round the steering wheel this treatment has done no damage at all just cleaned all the sticky gunge off.

Yeah, a pic or two would be nice. Just to check the final result...
Thanx Jimispain for the idea!

Sorry do not have camera for pictures just try a very small area to satisfy yourself it will work thats what I did.

Ok. Since i don't have this problem, we (Stilo-Club Greece) will try to get some pics.

i have the same prob with mine glovebox fusebox lid and sides of the centre console

jonathanbees said:

i have the same prob with mine glovebox fusebox lid and sides of the centre console

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Sticky plastics are a common problem in early-2000s cars of many makes and models. The rubberised coating was intended to give a quality feel to cheap plastics, but the rubber component turns sticky like an old elastic band.

I started a thread about seven years ago on an Alfa Romeo 166 forum. http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/alfa-164-andamp-166/112230-sticky-166-interior-plastics.html
I seem to have really started a trend, as a Google search for "166 sticky interior" turns up results at a Maserati forum and other places all referring to that thread

Then there is a whole new world of melting Toyota Camry dashboards - which has given rise to www.stickymeltingsolution.com and others.

When I had this problem on a Stilo a few years back, I found that just methylated spirits and a paper towel was sufficient to de-sticky the surface - then spray with matt black paint from a spraycan - gives a fairly original appearance but without the stickiness.

The inside surface of the covers/trim etc. goes just as sticky as the front, which proves that the problem is not caused by cleaning products etc.

Speaking of meths - and on a similar subject - the button panel near the driver's door, the window switches, and the buttons down by the gear lever all respond well to methylated spirits and a toothbrush/fingernail to scrape off and remove their rubbery coating. They look fine without a coating at all. The buttons on the Connect Nav are more of a problem, because the marking comes off along with the coating, so there isn't a lot you can do.

-Alex

Just thought I'd share my solution, I have tried lots of methods over the last couple of years to remove this gunk an meths works reasonably ok with lots of elbow grease but the best method I found is;

Simple baby wipes - I use these for cleaning everything from sumps to socket sets to steering wheels don't bother with other brands the polyester tissue in these is 1000 times better than ultra super self destructing huggies, johnson and johnson, pampers etc.

Lidl cien acetone free nail polish remover - comes in a really handy menda bottle so you only dispense exactly what you need and the rest stays clean €1.89

The lidl stuff contains meths and ethyl acetate works much better than meths alone.

Basically soak a wipe and moisten the whole surface scrub in sections until the wipe is saturated with paint, chuck it and get another wipe and start again. The glove box panel takes about 10 minutes, 10 wipes and 1/5 bottle of nail polish remover and not much elbow grease. I imagine if elbow grease is in short supply that repeatedly coating the surface over time would make it easier.

I've tried white spirit, carburettor cleaner, brake cleaner with xylene, isopropyl, engine cleaner, de-solv-it,swarfega most of them seems to make the stuff more tenacious so don't bother.